By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
Lincoln County officials believe they have resolved – for one year at least — a dispute that broke into the public view last week over sheriff deputy contracts in Waldport and Yachats.
The result – if county commissioners approve a proposal from Sheriff Curtis Landers next month – will have Waldport and Yachats splitting the cost of three deputies to service the two cities beginning sometime this summer. Waldport currently pays for two deputies; Yachats has none.
But the proposal is only for one year with the promise that the cities help the sheriff’s office craft a proposal asking voters to create a patrol district for all or most of rural Lincoln County.
On Wednesday, county commissioners agreed to hear Landers’ proposal at its June 5 meeting and then potentially approve the final details June 19 in time for 2024-25 city and county budgets that must be approved by June 30.
The compromise comes after Landers agreed to absorb some of the cost of the third south county deputy in his upcoming budget. Landers told YachatsNews on Wednesday he will propose moving some money from unfilled jail positions to the patrol budget for one year.
“It’s definitely doable to do that,” Landers said. “I’ll absorb it the first year … and see how Yachats likes having a deputy.”
The proposal calls for Waldport to pay $300,000 and Yachats $150,000 for a contract for three deputies providing patrol coverage seven days a week. Landers had proposed increasing Waldport’s contract to $400,000 for two deputies to work 80 hours a week – but its city manager and council wanted to find ways to reduce that cost.
The sheriff’s proposal is still about $100,000 short of what it takes to cover the full cost of three deputies.
Landers also said hiring a deputy usually involves an additional $64,000 for equipment and a patrol vehicle, which deputies take home. The sheriff said he will also absorb that cost for Yachats the first year.
The agreement to have the sheriff absorb the additional costs comes after the Waldport city council last week accused the county of ignoring the public safety needs in south county, commission chair Casey Miller responding by saying other county taxpayers should not be asked to subsidize city/deputy contracts, and an unusual rebuttal by Landers, who posted a five-page letter on social media Sunday criticizing the commission’s stance.
All that rancor appears to be gone after Landers latest proposal. But what remains is a longer-term solution to a law enforcement presence in rural areas of the county.
“My sense is that this can be resolved and we will work through this,” Miller told YachatsNews on Wednesday. “… but then we need to see how we move forward on a service district.”
Special taxing district
Three cities – Newport, Lincoln City and Toledo – have their own police departments. The Siletz area has a special service district that pays for two sheriff’s deputies to be stationed there. Waldport has had a contract for two deputies since 1997, and Depoe Bay started contracting this year for one deputy.
Six years ago, Landers and the county asked voters to approve a special law enforcement levy that would have raised $3.6 million to $4 million a year for five years. It would have beefed up eight areas of the sheriff’s office – everything from adding more patrol and jail deputies, detectives, a pre-trial justice program, jail counselor and even a jail receptionist.
Voters turned it down by a 56 percent to 44 percent margin.
“It failed because they asked for everything but the kitchen sink,” said Waldport city manager Dann Cutter. “It was too much and too complicated. Voters don’t like complicated.”
As part of Landers’ latest proposal to commissioners, Cutter volunteered to draw up an agreement to form a task force to investigate the rural service district idea.
“I think we need to have a real discussion with the entire community,” Cutter said.
The initial idea is to see if there is interest in beefing up the presence of deputies in rural unincorporated areas but also ask the small cities of Waldport, Siletz, Depoe Bay and Yachats if they want in.
Landers said the taxing district for patrol deputies would cover rural areas “and include the cities that want to participate.”
Cutter believes the idea could fly for several reasons. The rural district would be much cheaper than what Siletz-area residents are now paying for deputies, unincorporated areas like Otis, Seal Rock and Tidewater will finally get consistent coverage, and cities currently with deputy contracts will see hundreds of thousands of dollars freed up in their budgets.
If the countywide rural service district idea does not fly, then communities in south Lincoln County could consider forming their own, Cutter said. Such a district, for example, could use the boundaries of the fire districts in Seal Rock, Waldport/Tidewater and Yachats.
“I think we have a year’s reprieve to figure this out,” Cutter said. “But I think everything should be on the table.”
Quinton Smith is the editor of YachatsNews.com and can be reached at YachatsNews@gmail.com
It is nice to see a potential solution. As a Yachats resident, I’m willing to pay a little more in taxes to have a regular police patrol. Public safety is an important function of local government. This proposal would deliver cost-effective policing.
I applaud Sheriff Landers’ statement in response to the County’s (really Casey Miller’s) press release about this situation. It appears Commissioner Claire Hall and Commissioner Casey Miller only care about keeping the Sheriff under their financial thumb, not supporting his work for safety of the citizens of Waldport and Yachats. Or for that matter, the safety of the county as a whole. Bravo, Sheriff Landers, for your tireless advocacy for our County’s safety. Shame on you, Commissioners Hall and Miller, for your attempts to stifle Sheriff Landers on his fiscally responsible approach to our County’s safety through deception and bullying.
I fully support the idea of having law enforcement within the city of Yachats. We have a definite need for police especially in the summer months. The number of tourists keeps rising, speeders keep driving too fast within the city limits, and houseless individuals need to understand there is a police presence in our town. Keeping the citizens and tourists safe and secure is the number one job for the city government. I would support an increase in property taxes to make available adequate law enforcement in our town. Maybe they could share office space with our fire department, if necessary. We certainly have paid enough for the building.
I appreciate Sheriff Landers commitment to transparency in law enforcement and governing, something all too uncommon these day. His willingness to bring potential solutions to the table (and not just budget problems) coupled with Commissioner Jacobsen’s willingness to listen and work with him will go a long way in making sure those of us who live in South County get the police coverage we deserve. I was surprised by Commissioner Casey’s response but I know him to be intelligent and hardworking so I’ll choose to chalk this up to rookie error.
I think it is true that county funds do not subsidize the individual’s cities’ law enforcement needs. It is up to the cities to take care of this.
I appreciate the work that has gone into working out a solution. Some form of visible law enforcement is needed especially as the population, and tourism, grow.
That said, I would like to see support for a CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) program, such as in Eugene rather than only focusing on law enforcement. Many of the issues seen in Yachats, and along the coast, are people in need of help rather than an issue requiring law enforcement. Sheriffs are not trained to handle encounters with people having a mental health issue or who might be afraid of encounters with law enforcement. These quality of life issues need a different approach and it seems to be working well in other areas.
You might want to contact the department of Health and Human Services. It think they have just that kind of thing now. Might be good to have a talk with them.
What? No comment from Mayor Holland this time? He showed his true colors during all this. Waldport is kind and needs a mayor to match.